Photo Credit: Getty Images
New York City police have identified Debrina Kawam, 57, of New Jersey, as the woman who died after being set on fire on a Brooklyn subway train last week. Kawam's body was burned beyond recognition in the seemingly random attack on December 22nd.
Sebastian Zapeta, 33, is accused of starting the blaze with a lighter while Ms Kawam was asleep. He allegedly fanned the flames with a shirt and then watched the fire grow from a bench outside the subway car.
Last week, a grand jury indicted Mr Zapeta, who claims to have no memory of the incident, on four counts of murder and one count of arson.
Julie Bolcer, a spokesperson for New York City's Office of Chief Medical Examiner, said the death was ruled a homicide and caused by "thermal and inhalation injuries". She made the identification public on Tuesday.
"The identity was confirmed by the medical examiner yesterday through fingerprint analysis, following a multi-agency effort with our partners in law enforcement," she said.
It took authorities more than a week to identify Ms Kawam's body.
At a press conference on Tuesday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said that Ms Kawam had recently spent time at a city homeless shelter.
It really reinforces what I've been saying, people should not be living on our subway system, they should be in a place of care. And no matter where she lived, that should not have happened," he said.
Eric Gonzalez, the Brooklyn district attorney, said at a press conference early in the investigation that authorities had worked to collect DNA evidence and fingerprints from Ms Kawam's remains.
"It's a priority for me, for my office, for the police department to identify this woman, so we can notify her family," Mr Gonzalez said.
False and unverified information about her, including a fake AI-generated picture, had circulated online in the aftermath of the attack.
There was also an outpouring of support, including a vigil held for the then-unidentified victim last week.
The suspect, who is originally from Guatemala, was deported from the US in 2018 and later re-entered the country illegally, immigration authorities said.
He is due back in court on 7 January, prosecutors said.
